Girl Imperilled

by Ellie Rose McKee

Thirty stories of warrior women and damsels in distress. Of damsels causing distress. Of girls falling in love and breaking hearts; stealing babies, stealing wallets, transforming into creatures new; finding, losing, and saving themselves.

118 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 7, 2023

About the author

Ellie Rose McKee is a writer from Northern Ireland. As well as having numerous individual poems and short stories published online and in print, she has two poetry pamphlets and a collection of her short fiction.

In 2021, Ellie published her debut novel, Full Term, a hard-hitting young adult contemporary.

Reviews

[Janalyn, the blind reviewer · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the anthology girl in peril they have some tiny stories and some short stories but all are clever it will make you chuckle. I loved earworm but I think the fence was my favorite the stories aren’t as long as typical short stories and before I knew it the book was over and I wanted more. I will definitely be looking for more stories by Ellie Rose McKee she seems to have a great talent for getting her point across and not too many words and telling the whole story in just a couple of sentences I honestly love this book and definitely want to read more by this author. I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

[Cherlynn | cherreading · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5⭐

A unique anthology, with some stories being only two pages long. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

I feel like the book doesn't fully deliver what its synopsis promises as not every story was empowering or feminist; many felt directionless and completely went over my head. Like, I have no idea what they are supposed to be about... There are a handful that pack a punch though. Some of my favourites include Quest, At World's End and Triggers.

Overall, I liked the idea of this collection even though there were more misses than hits for me. Not your conventional read and I believe different people will interpret and appreciate each story differently. There's potential here, which makes me look forward to the author's future works.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of this book.

[HB. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was curious by how this novella was framed - women saving themselves - but the stories are a lot shorter than I expected them to be. The style of writing isn't my personal favourite, very fragmented with short emphatic sentences. I need more payoff in stories and there just wasn't enough time to be hooked by any of the stories. There wasn't enough substance because they were so short and everything was very, very simplified. The idea of a female robin hood is cool, but when it's less than two pages, it has no real impact. I'm sure lots of people will love these stories, but they weren't for me!

[Chloe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Girl Imperilled is a short story anthology from author Ellie Rose McKee. Through thirty short stories, each ranging from one to eleven pages long, a range of themes are explored including sexuality, fertility issues, mental illness and familial relationships.

There is fantastic LGBTQIA+ representation throughout and two of my favourite stories were ‘Coming Out’ which is set in a society where everyone has to publicly come out and announce their sexuality and ‘Dynamics’ which focuses on a girl supporting their trans sibling when they come out and are rejected by the wider family. I also though the story ‘Tried and Tested’ about a couple trying to conceive was really beautiful.

The stories do definitely vary in quality. Although some were really impactful, such as the two mentioned above, others didn’t seem as well written and just weren’t engaging. I also didn’t feel the book necessarily delivered its promise of being feminist as some of the stories didn’t feel particularly empowering.

Girl Imperilled is a very quick read and it’s easy to dip in and out of. Not all of the stories will work for everyone, but that’s often the case with short story anthologies.

Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

*I received a copy of this book in eBook format via NetGalley in return for this review. All reviews published are completely honest and my own, and are in no way influenced by the gifting opportunity. Thank you to NetGalley, Ellie Rose McKee and Elowen Press.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am quite biased, as I really like this author (as a person and writer!)

I really enjoyed this collection of fiction, with characters that feel like they are at the start of something big, the plots that twist and turn with such brilliance they make me laugh a little, there are stories here that go slightly into black mirror territory but all with the humanity this writer does best.

I feel like some of these stories absolutely could be taken and woven into bigger things, but to see these seeds and short stories as they are is a joy to itself and I'm really glad I got a chance to read them.

Personal favourites are Earworm, Robin, Haste and Caretaker but as a collection I really enjoyed this.

[Thalia (itssinceslicedbread) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Girl imperiled is a collection of stories about damsels in distress.
There's a variety of story types that would appeal to different readers. My favorites were the ones with the twist ending or mysterious backstory (Planned, Earworm, Locksmith).
There were some that felt more like "finish the story" prompts, and I would have appreciated if they were a little longer. A lot of them missed the mark for me and left me wanting more.

[James Samuel McKay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic collection of short stories. Some are very LGBTQIA friendly, especially one particular story about a young woman pondering her own sexuality. Highly recommended.

[Jade Haveron · Rating 1 out of 5]

There’s short stories and then there’s these, just couldn’t get into it but I’m sure it’s up someone’s street

Thanks to #NetGalley for the ARC